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Ohio OHFA Down Payment Assistance

Ohio Housing Finance Agency offers OHFA Down Payment Assistance to home buyers in Ohio: 3.5% of the price is the most you can get, as a forgivable loan.

Amount
3.5% of the price is the most you can get
Help type
A loan that can be forgiven
Only for first-time buyers
No
Your credit score
At least 640

You get a forgivable loan: after seven years it's forgiven, but sell sooner and you repay it all.

Keep your home and its first mortgage for the number of years the program sets, and the forgivable loan is forgiven.

Who qualifies for Ohio OHFA Down Payment Assistance?

  • The limits depend on your Ohio county; targeted areas use separate limits.
  • Being a first-time buyer isn't required.
  • Your credit score needs to be 640 or above.
  • You must take a homebuyer education course before buying.
  • It is paired with a mortgage loan: OHFA FHA, VA, USDA-RD or conventional.
  • The price limit depends on which county you buy in.

Your county and household size set most of the limits. Use our HUD income limits tool to see your area's median income and how your household compares.

How to apply for Ohio OHFA Down Payment Assistance

  1. With your home loan, you apply through an approved lender; Ohio Housing Finance Agency sends this help to that lender.
  2. Your lender compares your income, credit and the property with the program's rules, then reserves the money.
  3. The money goes toward your down payment and your closing costs when the sale closes.

Check Ohio Housing Finance Agency's page for OHFA Down Payment Assistance for every rule and if it is open. You can also use the agency's participating lender list.

Ask a lender about Ohio OHFA Down Payment Assistance

Tell us where you're buying and a lender that works with Ohio's programs can tell you whether Ohio OHFA Down Payment Assistance fits you, and what you could combine with it.

Call 866-602-7460

Don't feel like calling? The lender will reach you after you send your details.

When you send this request, you agree that one mortgage lender who works with these programs may contact you by email, phone or text, including by automated means, about this request. Agreeing is not a condition of any purchase. We are an independent guide, not a lender or a government agency; only that one lender gets your details, and it may pay us for the introduction. See our about page and privacy notice.

More Ohio first-time buyer programs

All Ohio programs for first-time home buyers · Down payment help in each state